Let's Do This

Nervous

I took a large breath looking around the practice room. Today is the day before solo ensemble, which I practiced every second I could for in this small room. I looked to the side and saw Niko walk in.

"Last day of full practice." He said.

"Hey." I replied thinking about what he just said. "I'm going to miss practicing for something challenging..." It's true, sure concerts and everything else is something we have to practice for, but we don't have to work hard on it. We're only in junior high, so our music isn't really challenging.

"Let's warm up." He muttered.

Then we practiced our last solo practice.

~

"Just go through those doors and turn to your left." My brother said to me while he dropped me off. I said a quick goodbye and walked into the doors of the high school where solo ensemble is held for us and different schools.

"Lets do this. I can do this." I muttered lame encourages to myself. Doesn't hurt to try right?

I walked into the high school and was welcomed by people rushing, kids cramming in last minute practice, and also a lot of conversations between random people. I felt my black flute case vibrate. I opened the zipper on the side, grabbed my phone and saw Niko on my screen."

"Hello?" I asked covering my other ear to listen to him.

"Hey, I'm in a classroom with a bunch of other people from our school." I heard his voice on the other side.

"Mkay, tell me how to get there." I asked him.

After a few minutes I ended up walking through the door of a classroom. It was basically a small for a classroom and was crowded by about 10 people that we were relatively friends with in desks practicing or just doing random things.

A clarinet dude named Andrew was solving a Rubik's cube quite quickly and was clearly showing that he was really nervous. A brown haired guy named Connor was sitting on top of a desk practicing his trumpet. Then there was a group of trombones playing around on a chair that spins. Finally I found Niko talking with a friend named Kaylee who played the flute in his band.

"Hola guys." I said once I got closer to them. They both had their flutes out but weren't practicing at the time.

"Hey!" They both said in unison.

"How long till our solos?" I asked looking around for a clock.

"About an hour and a half..." Kaylee said. Good thing us three have to play our solos around the same time, but I would have to go first.

"Mkay, lets do this!" I said enthusiastically. Then we passed an hour practicing.

An hour later we began to see people get their results. First being clarinet dude Andrew. Once we saw him, we all rushed to see what he got.

"What did you get?!" I said.

"Did you get a One?!" Kaylee asked. (One is the best, five is the worst, but two is most common)

"Guys, shuuuuush." Andrew said wanting us to stop talking. "I got a 1!" He exclaimed. We all cheered for our somewhat friend. Getting a 1 is really hard.

"Okay, anyways! If we're done celebrating, we should go back to practice. Our solos are in about 25 minutes." Niko said.

"Fine..." I muttered. I sighed and went through my solo, focusing on what is the hardest. Time went by and the band director came into the room.

"Okay." I heard the band director behind me. "We have two clarinets then it will be Grace, then Niko, then Kaylee. You three come to sit by the door where you will be judged." She announced then turned to leave.

"How long will that be?" I asked her while I turned around.

"It will take about 5 minutes each per person. So for Grace it will be 10 minutes." She answered, then left.

We all got our solos heading out the room to follow her to the judging room. We then all sat on the chairs beside the door and fingering and blowed our solos. I couldn't focus on anything, not even my solo. My heart was too loud and it was all I could hear, I didn't even notice a person in my band walk out.

"Grace?" A deep voice called out, it must be the judge.

"Yes?" I replied asking why he called my name.

"It's your turn." He stated as if it was obvious. What happened to the clarinet before me? I turned to my friends who gave me a thumbs up while I nodded.

"Let's do this..." I whispered to myself as I got into the room. There was a man in a suit behind a desk filled with a bunch of papers. On my left was my piano accompanist I practicing with a few times. "Anytime you're ready." The judge said staring at a piece of paper pen in hand.

Deep breaths Grace, you're more than prepared for this.

My accompanist signaled me to get into tune. I played an A above the staff then F on the staff while she pressed those notes on the piano. I looked up to the judge and he was looking at me, nodding to tell me to start.

My heart sped up and my heart beat filled my ears. This is something that I won't be able to redo or mess up on. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. This isn't something I should be worried about. I am more than ready. I put my flute up to my face. Took another deep breath and played.

I kept the tempo in my mind, and focused more than I ever did on my solo. I can't make any mistakes, must be as perfect as I can be. I listened to the piano making sure I am playing with her. I listened to myself, making sure I sounded as beautiful as I know I can be. Ignore the pressure which is on me, which has lightened a lot. A few minutes have gone by and I finished.

And I was actually proud of myself for once. I smiled, said thank you and then left.

I sat by my friends and they congratulated me, but they don't even know how proud I am already. Niko's name has been called and he went inside the room. I listened to every bit of his solo, also on how he played it perfectly. I was told after Niko finishes his solo, the judge will give him and I our rating.

The door opened and a smiling Niko came out. I couldn't blame him, his solo was just as good as we hoped it will be. The door opened once again and the familiar judge walked out holding two sheets or paper in his hand.

The papers that will tell us our score and will be saying if all of our hard practice will be worth it.